Things Are Not as They Seem
by A touch of
Summary: The Year is After Colony 200, peace has lasted this far. Trowa has been having some strange dreams. He is sent on a Mission, and partnered with Duo. What happens when the two try and do a mission together that could lead to another war? 03x02 Read and Review - please?
1. Chapter 1

Things Are Not as They Seem

The Year was After Colony 200

Man Kind has lived peacefully, under the support of Preventers and The Earth Sphere Unified Nation, led by Relena Darlian.

Chapter one:

_I shifted my body slightly from the awkward position that it had been in to look at the screen. The screen showed me what was out there, a raging battle, gun fire whirled around in an attempt to wound, more then likely kill be. The sudden impact of the last attack had knocked me for one. A warning blared loudly in on my right. I turned the machine as best as I could and clicked the fire button on one of my controls. _

_There was an explosion in front of my face and a bight light flared in my screens. I worked on getting my mobile suit to stand. It was more of a task then it sounded. I managed, but then my right screen blared again, this time a video feed came to life on the side. _

"_Stay down Trowa," he said. "Or we're not walkin away."_

_I stopped trying to make my gundam move then. The screen cut off as more explosions erupted on either side of me. I knew that we wouldn't lay low for long; that simply wasn't Duo's way. _

_I had been right, when the enemy was standing over us, we attacked and we got out of there. _

Waking up Trowa sat up in the bed a hand on his armed hand gun. He had had another dream from the war, or rather wars. The person beside him shifted. He looked down to the woman that had stayed the night. Melissa he had met her at the Preventers where he worked currently having left the circus when Catherine had married and started a family. The woman didn't seem to notice that he had pulled a gun or that he had woken up. That didn't appeal to his mercenary like nature. He shifted and got out of the bed.

His dreams were starting to bother him. Not in a way that would mess with his sanity or his work. They just bother him. He had never had dreams about the wars before.

The woman lay in bed completely unaware of her surroundings.

He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen; he was getting a glass of water when a ringing reached his ears. He set the glass down and moved to the show case of things from the war. A piece of mobile suit plating from Heavyarms his clown mask and a few other random items lay behind the glass. Including a cell phone that he could have sworn was off line. Placing items in a case had been Duo's idea, that one should never forget the good or bad times, and be proud of what they had done.

It rang again. That unique ring that was pilot 02, Deathscythe's pilot.

Trowa reached for the phone and opened it.

The screen was black. The phone was long dead he hadn't charged it in years. Why had he thought it was ringing now?

Setting the phone back, he looked at the woman that walked down the stairs and blinked at him.

"Trowa?" she questioned. He didn't reply to her as he closed the case and watched the phone. "Trowa it's late." He looked at the clock in the kitchen. Oh-five hundred and some odd minutes it wasn't late, it was early. He walked to his video phone and pushed the screen on. The soft blue light flared on illuminating him, the woman went back upstairs. He had a feeling it wouldn't have lasted long.

The screen switched to dialing when he pressed oh-two on the touch screen. Soon it answered and Hilde looked back at Trowa. "Hey," she said, "Oh-two Scrap how can I help?"

"Duo?" he asked. Hilde frowned.

"He hasn't been here for a while Trowa, went out with the Sweepers the other day to help collect scrap in space." Trowa nodded though he didn't respond to her. "I'll inform him that you called. Or you can call the shuttle if it's important." Trowa seemed to think about it and then nodded his head, he got the number for the shuttle and called right after a quick good bye from him.

"Hello," Duo said over the video and then smiled wide when he saw Trowa. "Hey Tro," he leaned on something in the shuttle. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

Trowa looked at him from his side of the screen and he relaxed. He looked over to the case again and then back down to Duo. "Just checking up."

"Okay so check up, how is everyone?"

"As far as I know good. Wufei is on a mission currently, Heero is still with Relena and being her body guard, Quatre is head of Winner Corp and engaged." Trowa said.

"Yeah, I knew that about Quat, pretty little thing he got too, I deal a lot with him seeing as how he's building another resource satellite out here by L2," Duo said. "I see Relena on broadcast quite a bit, Wufei I see from time to time because of his missions take him out here to examine some of the metal I bring in. How about you Trowa how are you?"

The former Heavyarms pilot shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know how to answer that. "I have been here."

"Alive and well?" Trowa nodded his head, he wasn't normally the talker. "Well hey, how about this, I have some work ta do on Earth in a few days, how bout we meet up for lunch or something?" he asked with a grin on his face. Trowa thought this over and then nodded his head in agreement, lunch sounded good to him. He hasn't really seen Duo in the past couple of years where as the other more than likely have. He seemed to have a good business as well. "I'll call when I get to Earth, maybe I can crash at your place."

Trowa seemed to consider Duo's idea of crashing with him for the time he was down on Earth. He nodded his head after that moment. "Fine."

"Great! I'll be down in a few days," he said and then waved at him through the vid screen before closing his end.

**I am not overly sure why I asked to crash with Trowa, it wasn't like I couldn't get a hotel room or anything. But something inside me just wanted to. I stood staring at the black screen of the videophone when someone came up behind me. "We there?" I asked without turning from where I was standing. **

"**Yes sir and it's a graveyard of mobile suits," he said. I nod knowing it would be, space had been home of many battles, and a few of them took place around the Lunar Base. We needed to get this area cleaned up for Quatre and his resource satellite. **

"**Yep, and its all for the pickins," I said and turned to one of the sweepers. **

"**Got permission from Commander Une?" he asked me with a smile on his face. I grunted my reply the sweeper nodded and left the room. Officially I had free reign over any scrap in space that I could find, mainly because Commander Une didn't want to send her own hard workin people to do the job I was willin to. I just had to dismantle anything really big and take all the nice little mobile weapon controls to a special little place so that the preventers could destroy them. A lot of this metal was gonna go in for Quatre's project here, and havin a resource satellite this close to L2, well I hope to have that help the colony.**

**Unofficially I did what I want with the scrap, I knew the difference between neo titanium and Gundanium. I admit to myself that I keep it too. **

**But still I wonder why I even said I was going to Earth. It's not like I didn't have business there. I did, I needed to check up with Command Une and Noin about the amount of battle scrap up here and give my year report as well as have that meeting with Quatre on when he can start building. See I didn't join preventers like they thought I would. Yes I work with them and help em out, but that's not the same. Folding my arms I tapped my foot. Time to give Quatre a call and see if we can bring the gang together for a day or so. Of course, it would be all his idea. **

Trowa watched the screen for a long moment after it went black. Nothing seemed to be wrong with Duo. Maybe it was a lack of sleep that was making him think that the phone rang with Duo's old number. Letting out a breath he moved upstairs to get ready for his day of work. The uniform long ago forgotten as he worked best in jeans and a long sleeve turtle neck shirt, and his work he wore what he liked. Having dressed he would make a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and then be heading out the door before Melissa ever woke up again.

Driving down to the Preventer's office, he knew trouble when he saw it and this was trouble. Une and Noin were waiting for him to exit the car and walk over to them and when he did he greeted them with a nod of his head.

"Trowa," Commander Une started. "I have a mission for you," she said. "You can choose your partner but I do not believe Melissa would be a good choice. The mission is for you to plant yourself into an organization; it's in the L3 area. We believe from contacts in the colonies that there is a group there that is trying to build mobile suits once more."

Une handed him a vanilla folder and he opened it to look at the details of the mission. He had three days to choose a partner and then head up into space.

_Une really hit me with this. I had been hoping to see the others. But this was my job now, and if this was true then I was looking at a very real possible threat. I walked into my office at the Preventer building. I had an idea of who I would want as my back up, even if he didn't work for the Preventers I was sure he was a little bored. So when I once more dialed that shuttle number. I saw his face appear once more on the screen as he looked at him hands in a fist on his hips, eyes closed with a big grin. _

"_What do I owe the pleasure of a preventer… oh hey again Tro," he corrected once he opened his eyes at me. I nodded my head to him. _

"_Where are you?" I asked. _

"_Near the Lunar Base, L2 colony cluster 34, 187," Duo replied to me easily. I remembered that place; he was following the trail of mobile dolls. _

"_What is your eta to L3?"_

_Duo looked at me; a hand went to his head and scratched as he looked at a couple of screens. "If I had to push it, man, that's on the other side of Earth Tro," Duo frowned at the screens he was looking at. "47 hours if I pushed hard, 55 to be safe." That would give me enough time to go over a few things with him and make it to L3._

"_Duo," I said calmly he looked at me, "I need a partner."_

Duo stood there for a moment and then nodded his head to Trowa. "Yeah you got it Tro, I'll start my way over to L3," he said and moved to turn off the screen. He looked once more to Trowa and then nodded once before the screen went black. Now all Trowa had to do was tell Commander Une that he had gotten a partner. Signing off his and Duo's name on the team assigned line, he filled in the requirements, equipment that may be needed if Duo didn't already have them. Once he was finished he took it up to Commander Une and handed it to her. She opened it and scanned the names.

"Duo Maxwell? He's not a preventer," she said.

"No," Trowa agreed, "he's not."

"He didn't ask for anything?" she questioned him. Trowa shook his head. "Fine." She agreed and signed off on the mission that he was going to take.

That left him the rest of the day to prepare.


	2. Chapter 2

Things Are Not as They Seem2

The Year was After Colony 200

Man Kind has lived peacefully, under the support of Preventers and The Earth Sphere Unified Nation, led by Relena Darlian.

Chapter Two:

**I wasn't sure at first what Trowa meant when he said he needed a partner. Well on my way to L3 he was kind enough to fill me in. So there was an organization in the L3 area that may or may not be trying to start making their own mobile suits. I just couldn't believe this, after years of peace, after we worked so hard on getting it some ass hole was gonna try and start another one? Well not on my watch they aint. **

"**Not much is known of where they hold their base of operations or if they are bringing in neo titanium or any other metal for that matter," Trowa said as he looked over the folder once more. I leaned back in my chair and shook my head. **

"**I'd know if someone was buyin Gundanium, with the sweepers and the scrap yard bein in L2, its hard to buy or sell any metal with out me or Hilde knowin," I said to the video screen. **

"**So it's not gundams, it could be mobile suits or dolls, I know you aren't the only scavenger out in space," Trowa replied to me. **

"**Yeah and I'm not that happy neither," I replied and shrugged a shoulder. "So what we go in check it out and then defuse the situation…" **

"**Une wants us to see what the situation is and get as much information as possible," Trowa turned away from the video feed. I wasn't too thrilled with helping Une, but she did allow me free reign over all the scrap in space so I'd do her a few favors to keep her happy. "ETA seven hours."**

"**I'm almost there buddy," I informed him. "I'll secure us a location and call where." At his nod I disconnected the call.**

"This is Duo asking for docking instructions," he said once he was in range of the colony. He watched as lights came on some of the massive docking bays.

"Hello Duo, head towards dock 3," came the reply of a female attendant.

"Thank you," Duo said and got to work on docking his small shuttle. Grabbing his bag, his cap and sunglasses he left the docking bay. He still had to find a place to stay in the colony. Looking around he didn't want anything too close to the shuttle bay, they tended to be more expensive. He didn't want to spend too much of the preventer's money.

_I look at Duo from the screen; his grinning face takes up most of the view. I can tell he's trying to get something out of him and I am of half a mind to humor him. "Its about 3 kilometers from dock 3," Duo said. "It's called the Third Apple." Odd name for a hotel I thought as Duo was playing with the number three. I wondered if the owners thought of this as well. _

"_Stay low, provisions?" I asked him. _

"_Yep, coffee, food, soda, water, food," Duo said as he listened them off with his fingers. _

"_Real food I hope," I replied. _

"_You think I eat nothin but junk too?" Duo crossed his arms and turned his head away from me. "Just so ya know, I aint half bad a cook when I wanna be, I did live by myself for quite awhile after all. Not only that, I had ta do something on the Sweepers ship when I was younger."_

"_I thought that was where you gained your mechanic skills," I replied. _

"_Well yeah, but I had ta do other things," he replied and then sat down again. "I did some snooping Tro. Nothin big." He waved his hand off as I crossed my arms and closed my eyes to listen. "The colony is quiet. Not like the silence quiet, but ya know how colonies have this hum about them ta tell that their alive?" I hummed for him to continue. "The air and everythins workin for as I can see. Haveta go into the colony ta know more, but I mean its quiet. Like the colony is putting its power somewhere it aint supposeta." _

_I haven't filled him in completely yet, but I had planned on it when I get to L3. "I'll be there in about four hours, don't do snooping around until I fill you in."_

Four hours has never felt so long for Duo as he sat flipping through the channels of the television. He was laying on one of the beds, he stopped at a cartoon and watched it for a moment and then flipped it to the news.

"I hope to have the resource satellite operating within the next year. I am working with the Sweepers and Oh-Two Scrap on clearing space for the satellite. Construction of RS II will start sometime next week," Quatre said to the microphone. Duo stood watching him. "Are you aiming to help the colonist of the L2 cluster by building this satellite?" asked a reporter. "Not just them but all the colonies, I aim to work with the Sweepers, Preventers, the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, Oh-Two Scrap and the Winner Corporation to make the colonies a safer place to live." Quature said.

"You go Quat," Duo said to the screen as the blond haired ex-pilot took to answering more questions. Duo walked into the small kitchenette and poured himself a cup of coffee before walked back towards the television. Quatre was now talking about the design of the satellite as pictures came up behind him and he explained the functions of them. Duo sat down one of the beds and took a long drink of his coffee. He stopped paying attention to the screen in front of him instead listening to the noise outside the window. People walking around talking, chattering to themselves. Some of them had fought in the war; others had not and were safe from everything. This is what he and the other fought so hard to get.

There was a soft knock, once at the door. Duo walked over and opened it. Trowa stepped inside and looked around the room.

"Hey Tro," Duo said. Trowa turned his head to him and nodded once in greeting. "Already swept the place once," Duo informed him as he took another drink of the coffee. Trowa sat his two bags down and started to do his own sweep of the area. Checking for bugs of any kind. "Television's clean." Duo said, Trowa stopped and looked at him. Duo shrugged his shoulder. "Not as hard as a shuttle engine."

When Trowa was finished with his sweep he took out a folder and sat it in front of Duo at the little table. Duo opened it up.

"Preventers got a rumor that someone was attempting to build a mobile suit a year ago. Preventer agents Wufei and Kelly brought the man in after finding evidence of this rumor being true," Trowa said. Duo looked over the reports of this case. "The man after spending the year in prison for his crime died, before he did though he told the guard that his son would make sure he was avenged." Duo turned a few pages. "We had done research of this man and who may be his family. He was never married and had no children, records say. However in the past two months an organization called Pegasus started to rise in power in the L3 colonies. The leader of this organization is Cameron Blackwell."

"He wasn't in any of the last wars was he?" Duo asked as he looked at the profile of the man.

"No he wasn't, it's Une's guess that he stayed out of both wars, collecting his forces and his military might before he made his move."

"And now he's moving?" Duo questioned.

"That's what the rumors say."

"And we're without our Gundams this time, and without mobile suits," Duo replied. Trowa hummed in agreement. "I mean unless Quatre can bring them back from being blown up after a few years."

"Quatre is good, but I don't believe he can do that," Trowa responded. Duo chuckled at him.

_Duo had done well with the provisions, I guess I can't always listen to Wufei and his ranting that Maxwell only eats junk food. He did get some mind, not as many as I thought he would have. We chose to lay low for a while, letting the people of the colony see us as friends. We walk to the store together and look around at the shops. I had informed him that I wanted us to go in as partners, not strangers that way it wouldn't look odd us talking to each other and playing off each other. I have seen what really good teams can do when they don't want the enemy to know they are a team, and fail horribly because they were use to the team work. _

_He had agreed. _

_Duo is laying on one of the beds flipping through the stations and I am reading in one of the chairs when a knock came to the door. Duo set his canned soda down and grabbed his gun from under the pillow. He would be my back up as I answered the door. I opened it slowly but it was just the hotel clerk. He handed me an envelope._

"_This arrived for you Mister Barton," he said and then left. I closed the door and locked it once more. Duo put his weapon away and walked over to me. _

_Opening the plan white envelope with just my last name, I took out the paper. I looked over the simple writing and looked at Duo who also looked at it. _

"_You are invited to Miss Simons birthday party, on Saturday. Party starts at two, casual dress, no gifts needed. May bring one guest. 1114 Lake Avenue," Duo read. "Looks like Blackwell is responding to us."_

"_Is that a good thing?" I questioned. _

"_Well we did kinda want him too," Duo replied. I had a bad feeling about this. _

**I am the stealth expert. Yeah Tro may be silent and stealthy, but I am the master at it. I had to do it most my life. So when that letter gave the address of some Miss Simons, I knew what we were both thinkin. I sneak around the place to see if anything fishy is afoot. **

**So what do I find? A middle aged woman in a upper middle class area with three dogs. So my sneaking in to look around was kinda not happenin. Of all my years of crawlin around and gettin inta places I shouldn't, I still hadn't found outa way ta get around dogs. I am so glad Tro is on this mission. After I told him bout the dogs he went. And wouldn't ya know it calmed down them beasts so he could look around. Man had a way with animals. I watch him from a roof over as he looks around. I am startin ta think that his woman has nothing to do with this Pegasus Group. Op just sounds weird, not like Oz. **

**Tro and I make it back to the room easily enough. I go and turn on the television and start surfin the channels. When he talks, "I don't understand," he said. **

"**Maybe it's a test? Ta see who ya are?"**

"**Or maybe it's to kill us?" Tro responds. Sometimes he can be like Heero. **

"**Ya really think they plan on killin us?" I asked and Trowa is silent for a while. Sometimes he annoys the shit outa me with his silence like Heero's. But that's also what attracts me to him. …**

**Did I really just have that thought?**


	3. Chapter 3

Things Are Not as They Seem3

The Year was After Colony 200

Man Kind has lived peacefully, under the support of Preventers and The Earth Sphere Unified Nation, led by Relena Darlian.

Chapter Three:

**Tro and I walk down the streets to this woman's house, Miss Simons and her birthday party. We're both armed incase something were to, you know, go wrong like we were thinking. Trowa has the paper that had invited us as we walk up the steps and at once I hear the dogs bark through the door. I knock and a woman opens the door. **

**She looks about as confused as we were. "Can I help you?" she asked. **

"**We're here for miss Simons birthday," Trowa said and showed the woman the letter. She looked it over briefly and then moved to the side and allow us in. **

"**Come in and enjoy yourselves, the gathering is in the backyard," she said and led us to the back. The dogs barking and rubbing up against Trowa begging for his attention. **

**Trowa may be silent, but I am the life of the party. I'd have to say about ten minutes after we got there I had a small gathering of women and men around me listening to me tell my tale as Trowa watched silently from the sidelines. Talking to a couple of random people. **

"**So then what happened?" I hear a woman asked. **

"**We jump outta the building," I answered. "Of course we had parachutes, but the idiot didn't seem ta want ta pull his. So he slammed hard against the rock and broke his leg."**

"**I bet it was exciting!" said the same woman, I shrug. **

"**Nothin I aint useta," I say and wave my hand. **

"**You fought in the war huh, a kid like you?" said a man to my left. **

"**Oh yeah, glad we finally got peace though," I reply. **

"**What side did you fight on?" he asked again. **

"**Well ya know, it changed often durin the war," I respond, I didn't want to tell the man or the others that I had been a Gundam Pilot, that may not go so well. I look over at Trowa as he nodded his head to something a woman was saying to him. The man that had asked turned and looked at him also. **

"**Was he your partner?" the man asked. **

"**Was?" I asked back. "He still one of my partners and friends." The man nodded. **

"**You sound like you're from L2," said a new woman that was dressed nicely for this being a casual dress party. Her hair was fixed up and she looked like a bitch. **

**I grin, "yep! Oh-two Scrap owner and member of the Sweepers!" I say happily. The woman frowned at me. Oh well cant please them all. **

"**I see," she said and turned to Trowa and then back to me. She walked past me and started to talk with Miss Simons. I can tell Trowa didn't miss the woman either as he had angled himself to watch her carefully while still listening to a conversation with a man and a woman. The three dogs laying at his feet. **

**The rest of the party went kinda like that as Tro and me worked our way around the people, trying to get a feel for them, maybe figure out which ones are part of this Pegasus group and which are normal civilians. I am fair at reading people, but honestly I couldn't tell if any of them were or weren't part of Pegasus. I believe they all are, but that's just my gut.**

"**Any ideas?" was the first thing out of Tro's mouth when we got back to the hotel room. **

"**Couple," I replied as I plopped down on my bed. Trowa sat beside me on the edge. "Some of em have things ta hide," I said and shrugged a shoulder. "But who don't."**

**Trowa closed his eyes. "I think the whole colony is part of Pegasus," Trowa said. I sat up on my elbows. "Have you noticed that there are no children here?" Honestly I hadn't thought of that. "That would be how Cameron figured out we were here, the people in the docking bay. The Hotel clerk knew our names, and I bet he knows I am from preventers."**

"**I don't think he knows ya from preventers, your not dead yet," I said and then turn over on my side facing him. He folds his arms over his chest and gets his thinking look on his face. See unlike Heero Trowa talks to me about the missions we're on. I know it's kinda silly, but its somethin that I like. **

"**We're going to have to get into Pegasus," he said after a moment. **

"**Yep," I respond. I already had a feeling. Trowa likes plain sides like that. He did it in Oz and in the Mariemaia army. **

Now a couple of days later Duo was flipping through the channels when he stopped and sat up in the bed. This movement caught Trowa's attention and he moved over to look at the screen with Duo. There was a podium and microphones, behind was a royal blue drape with a horse with wings design in white.

"Trowa," Duo started and Trowa nodded. This was when the man would declare war or independence or something. And sure enough Careman Blackwell walked to the podium. He wore dark blue with the white crest on each arm. His blond hair was pulled back into a small ponytail and his brown eyes looked into the camera.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen," he said into the microphones. "I am General Cameron Blackwell. There are sayings that tell of how it is human nature to fight, that we live for conflict. True as it is, the human race also likes to be controlled. I am not declaring war, I am not declaring independents. I am declaring a take over. Mariemaia almost had it correct. Dekim Barton should have waited longer. Long enough for the Preventers to eliminate the mobile suit factories on the Colonies and on Earth, long enough for the Gundams to be destroyed." He waited a moment. Duo was gripping the bed cover in his hands tightly. "Now that there are no more mobile suit factories, or Gundams, I can bring the Colonies and Earth under a new different rule. Relena Darlian preaches about peace through pacifism, where no one owns any military might. It was a good idea of a child of sixteen, and has somewhat worked with the aid of the Preventers and former Gundam Pilots. However, this is not the human way, this isn't natural." Cameron opened his arms out to the public. "As you can tell pacifism isn't working."

Behind him a screen came on and Relena's angry face appeared.

"What you are doing is wrong, people are living in peace," she said.

"Really?" Cameron question, he turned slightly to look at her image. "Then miss Relena, tell me why a band of men crossed a boarder into another country and proceeded to destroy several government and world piece buildings? Yes it is true that the Prevents had taken care of the act three weeks later, but that is because there weren't a standing military. What I propose miss Relena is that countries and the colonies have standing armies so that it doesn't take the preventers weeks to accomplish one thing."

"If we have militaries again war will break out." Relena said.

"Maybe. shouldn't countries governments be allowed to deal with their own problems instead of having to rely on the Preventers?"

"I suggest that the counties or colonies that have this issue put people into Preventers to help keep accidents from happening."

"Miss Relena, let me ask you something. If you love your country so much you are willing to lay your life down for it, would you rather join that country's military, or the Preventers which could, most often than not, move you away from your country and help another leaving your loved homeland, the land and people you wanted to protect." Cameron inquired. Relena narrowed her eyes.

"This seems like an attack on Preventers," she said. Cameron looked back towards the image. "Preventers try and help all nations and colonies."

"All I am asking is that the nations and colonies be allowed their military back," he held up a stack of papers. "Accounts and reports of countries being attacked by rogue factions and other countries because of history of hate towards each other. Half of these reports say that there are countless dead because they didn't get there in time, the other nothing was done because there wasn't enough man power or it was already over with. And as we all know, the victor writes history," he said. "These reports will be available to viewed by the general public at fifteen hundred hours."

"You can't do that!" a woman yelled coming on the screen with Relena.

"Ah former Lieutenant Noin," Cameron smiled at her. "Shouldn't reports like this also be showed to the people? Not just the successful ones."

"General Blackwell," Relena was fully in the picture again. "Your plan of a take over will be in vain just like all the others before you. As you said the mobile suit factories have been destroyed."

Cameron smiled then. "It seems Preventers have missed a few."

Trowa's cell phone rang then, he opened it and placed it to his ear.

"Have you found anything?" Une asked.

"Negative," Trowa said and watched the screen.

"My miss Relena that sounds like a declaration of war."

**I am not sure what to think really. Yeah it had been a long time since the last person declared any type of war, that was Mariemaia, but we still had mobile suits and our Gundams then. We don't have that now and this Cameron Blackwell claims to have Mobile suits. Yes that's why Tro and I are here to see if that's true, seems it is now. He also seems to know a lot about what happened before too. Wonder if he'd know if Tro and I are former Gundam pilots. If we're able to get hold of a few mobile suits then it should be fine we can take out several bases when them. Trowa doesn't look too happy, at least from where I am sitting. He's at the small table and I am sittin on one of the beds watching him type something. **

"**So," I start, unlike Heero he pauses in his typing and looks up at me, I grin. "What's the plan now?"**

"**We go in undercover into Pegasus," Trowa replied. **

"**So that plan hasn't changed," he shook his head and went back to his typing. I got up from my seat and move over to him. Looking over his shoulder I see that he's typing an e-mail to Quatre, Heero and Wufei. What makes this e-mail special is that he's claiming to leave preventers and attempt to join up with the Pegasus military. He also says he's taking me with him. In the war we had to get e-mail to each other and they couldn't come right out and say, Hey I'm a Gundam Pilot and I'll be here on this date because of something or another. So we got smart and coded our messages with phrases and stuff. Helped if we had to call one another too. He let me read it and make sure it wasn't too cheesy else we wouldn't be allowed to join. Though I had a bad feelin on how Tro was going to get us into Pegasus. **

**I lean on the back of his chair as he sends the e-mail and he sits back crossing his arms over his stomach. Trowa turns his head and looks at me with one green eye for a long moment. "What?" I asked.**

"**How did you manage to keep your hair during the war?" he asked him. That about knocked me off my feet. **

"**Luck I guess," I reply. I had been captured in the war and somehow I managed to keep my braid. Trowa hums lightly when his phone rings. He answers it. **

"**Trowa." I still lean against the back of his chair as I try and listen to who is on the other side. But the volume is too low for me to hear. "Yes," Trowa responds. "Yes that is correct." A pause. "You don't understand Quatre." I back away from Trowa then, I had always thought that he and Quatre were a pair in the war, but with Quatre marrying that woman I guess I had been wrong. Again now I am not so sure. Trowa looked at me, I shrugged a shoulder and leaned my hip against the table. "Quatre, I am a soldier, always have been… I need this. Good luck with your marriage."**

**I understand the plan now. He hung up the phone and set it on the table. **

_I had a bad habit of playing things by ear. I am just lucky that I have Duo as a partner, we had partnered before and it worked out well, I just hope that he can read me just as well as before, I silently hoped that he could read me better than before. I watch him from the seat beside the table as he sits on the bed surfing the channels again. After my phone call with Quatre I think he understands the plan of action. I hadn't informed him completely yet. I plan on telling General Blackwell that we are former Gundam pilots. I hope that that will get us into Pegasus a bit easier. I move over to him as he lands on the channel he wants and takes his wet hair out of the towel. I grab the brush from the bed beside him and sit down behind him and start brushing his hair. _

"_Um, Tro what are ya doin?" he asks his voice uneasy. _

_I hum gently, "brushing your hair," I reply. I start at the tips and work my way up, I can tell at first that he's nervous, but after a bit he calms and relaxes into it. _

"_Ya know," Duo started, "that feels good." I nodded my head at what he said, my fingers running through the damp newly washed hair after the brush. All tangles gone I could stop. _

_I don't. _

_Duo's shoulders are relaxed and he is breathing easy. I then started to braid his hair. "Tro…" he whispers and lets out a breath. I hum to let him know I was listening. He doesn't say anything else. I finish braiding his hair and move to go take my shower. _


	4. Chapter 4

Things Are Not as They Seem4

The Year was After Colony 200

General Cameron Blackwell of the Pegasus organization has made a move against the Preventers claiming that they cannot resolve all nations and colony problems. He put forth that the nations and the colonies should have their own standing army. World Peace leader Relena Darlian disagrees with General Blackwell's notion saying that standing armies will bring back war.

Chapter 4

"You are suppose to stop conflict before it happens," Relena said to the woman behind the desk.

"I am aware of that Relena, but doing so is harder then it seems. We are greatly understaffed and my people cannot be everywhere at once," the woman looked to the four men that stood in the room with her and Relena. "Ask them they know how hard it is to be in several places at once."

"Commander Une is right," Wufei said and looked at Relena. "This General Blackwell has done his research well and he knows there is no military might anymore. A few thousand men, armed with handguns isn't enough to take down one mobile suit. Who knows how many he has."

"But why would he want to change the peace that is already set?" Relena asked.

"Because he believes in human nature," Wind said. Relena looked at him. "Like it or not Relena it is human nature to fight. This was going to happen at some point."

Relena leaned back in the chair and let out a sigh. "You have someone up there don't you?"

"I did," Une said and sat down. "From this day, Duo Maxwell and Trowa Barton are enemies."

"They were Gundam pilots and they fought for peace why are they fighting again?" Relena asked stunned.

"Trowa is a soldier," Wufei said, "raised by soldiers, its hard for a soldier to live in a world of peace. Even if they fought for it. Duo is the self proclaimed God of Death."

Relena stood up, "so they are going to let go of everything they worked for and fight again?" she nearly yelled. Heero placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down into the chair.

"Getting angry wont solve anything," he said sternly.

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

"We wait," Une said. "We wait to see which nations start their standing military again and pull out."

"And while he attacks we have no defenses," Relena said.

Une looked to Wind and then a smile spread over her lips. "Well I wouldn't say that Miss Relena." Relena turned to look at her brother and then back to Une.

They waited in a room that looked a lot like Commander Une's of Preventers. There was a simple desk with a computer and a phone and a chair on the other side. Two chairs in front which only Duo sat in one. He was being rather quiet and letting Trowa take the lead on this and just following in step. Trowa was looking at a painting on the wall when the door opened and closed.

"They call it art," said the man.

"What do you call it?" Trowa asked.

"I call it a canvas with paint thrown on it," he answered. "Greetings, I am General Cameron Blackwell and you are…" he trailed off.

"Trowa Barton, former Gundam pilot and preventer agent," Trowa answered. Duo looked at him and then grinned.

"Duo Maxwell, I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie. Former Gundam pilot and owner of Oh-Two Scrap at your service," he said with a grin on his face.

"Former Gundam pilots… well what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Cameron asked.

"We want to join Pegasus," Trowa said. Cameron nodded his head.

"I thought as much, and giving knowledge that you are former Gundam pilots and Preventer angents-"

"No," Duo said cutting the man off. "Tro was a preventer agent, I was not."

"I see," there was a pause as Cameron watched Duo for a minute before turning his attention to Trowa. "And what position were you looking for mister Barton?"

Trowa shrugged, "we have always been good at piloting." Duo leaned back in the chair as he watched them, mainly the former Heavyarms pilot to try and figure out what was going on in his head.

"Do you really think that I would let you so easily start off piloting a mobile suit again?" Cameron asked.

"No, but you did ask what we were looking for," Trowa countered.

"I did," Cameron agreed.

"Mechanics," Duo said from the chair. Cameron and Trowa looked at him. "What?"

"Do you agree mister Barton?" the general asked him. Trowa nodded his head, "very well then. Come back tomorrow, we'll have uniforms for you and you can start. I must thank you two for being so honest and open. I look forward to working with Gundam pilots."

The two men left the building and started back towards the hotel. Once back inside the safety of their room, Duo slumped against the door.

"Quick thinking," Trowa praised.

"I had a feelin you were tryin to get a look at the mobile suits," Duo said and moved towards the bed. "But I tell ya being a mechanic is hard work."

"I know I was a mechanic before I got the name Trowa Barton," he replied as Duo dropped his body on the bed, he pulled an arm up and rested his head on it.

"Yeah? I was one for the Sweepers," Duo said. Trowa walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed Duo was laying on. "I had fun too, getin the beat up mobile suits and learnin how ta work on one."

"Do you miss the days before you were a Gundam pilot?" Trowa asked. Duo opened his eyes and thought on that question for a moment.

"It was hard, but I met alota good people. Alota good people that died in the war," Duo answered and rolled over back to Trowa. The ex-circus performer stared at the back of his head in silence.

_I am not sure what had happened, but Duo just seemed to shut down for a bit. So I left him there to think about the past on the bed as I went to fix something to eat in the small kitchenette. I brought my sandwich and can of soda into the other room and turned the television on. I had made it a habit to sit next to Duo. So with one leg up against his back I flip through the channels until I come to a show that looked entertaining, it was about African wildlife. As I go to eat my lunch I feel Duo laugh beside me. _

_I know what he's laughing at, as he turns around and places his head on my thigh. Without thinking I place my hand on his head and start stroking his hair. Soon I feel him sleeping, though lightly beside me. _

_I stay like that for a while, my own head resting back against the headboard my hand running through Duo's hair. I admit I am still amazed that he kept it through two wars. _

_I feel him move and turn his back to me again. I move to lay down and wrap my arm around him, he doesn't move so I close my eyes and drift off into a nap. _

There was a loud crash and Trowa as awake, gun pointing towards the noise as Duo held his hands up in surrender to him, the object that made the crashing sound in the sink. Trowa blinked, put his gun away and moved to see what the braided ex-pilot was doing. Noodles were being drained in a colander, the pot that had cooked them lay askew in the other side of the sink.

"Duo…"

"I know how ta cook," Duo protested. Trowa looked around and saw a couple of chicken breasts cooked to a golden brown and sliced, a casserole dish to the side of it. He lifted a brow, the dish looked just big enough to fit into the miniature oven. Trowa nodded his head then, moving to sit at the table. Duo went back to work on cooking the food. "Sorry I snapped. It's just that no one thinks I can cook."

"We've never seen you cook," Trowa replied.

"Yeah I know," Duo replied as he put the noodle, chicken and sauce into the oven. "But I had ta work on Sweepers and we took turns doin chores. I learned how ta cook on the shuttle."

"It wasn't just mechanic work?" Trowa asked.

"Nope, Sweepers run their own shuttles, and pull in their own scrap. They pride themselves on that," the braided male responded. Duo sat down and looked at Trowa. "Tro?" there was a soft hum from the male, once more Duo didn't answer.

**Yeah I can pride myself sometimes with what I can cook. Alfredo casserole was one of em. Trowa seemed to like it too as he got seconds. I was too busy thinking of how we napped. His arm around me, it was weird. A good weird, but I didn't really know how ta tell him. Like I said I always thought that he and Quatre were a thing, but now I know that's not true, and Heero is with Relena. They make a good couple. I can read people fairly well, Trowa I can read sometimes, but I get the feelin he can read me more than I can read him. Okay maybe I am nuts after all. **

**I pushed the last few bites around on my plate. **

"**You are right Duo," I heard from across from me. Trowa had cleaned his second plate and was watching me. I must have had a confused look on my face because he talked again, "you can cook."**

**I grinned, "course I can!" Trowa gave his hum again. I am starting to learn what they mean, a bit different then Hero's 'hn' all the time. Trowa's sound more… warm. **

Trowa did the dishes since Duo cooked. Duo sat on his bed and flipped once more through the channels. "You know," Duo started. "All this waiting in the hotel room is boring."

Turning his head to look at Duo, "the war was rather chaotic," Trowa replied. Duo looked over at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"Not really but we didn't get to stay if hotel rooms often either and when we were in a safe house we were fearing for our lives," Duo said. "This just feels strange to sit here and not have to worry."

"Then worry about this, we are the enemies of the preventers, which means Heero, Wufei and Quatre will be after us," Trowa said as he dried his hands.

"Great," Duo moaned, "didn't think of that."

"Not so fun playing the enemy side of friends is it?" Trowa teased. The braided male chuckled and shook his head. Walking over Trowa sat down on the bed and looked at the television and saw that Duo stopped on the channel he had been watching before the nap. Large cats were now on the screen, hunting down their pray.

"Tro," Duo started, Trowa hummed once more looking at Duo with his deep green eyes. "Where you and Quatre, ya know, a thing in the war?"

Trowa stared at him for long moment. "We were very good friends in the war," he answered, "you and Heero?"

"Phpft!" Duo crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. "All he cared about was the mission and be hell to anything else."

"So that is a no for both of us," Trowa said and shifted slightly in the bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Things Are Not as They Seem5

The Year was After Colony 200

General Cameron Blackwell of the Pegasus organization has made a move against the Preventers claiming that they cannot resolve all nations and colony problems. He put forth that the nations and the colonies should have their own standing army. World Peace leader Relena Darlian disagrees with General Blackwell's notion saying that standing armies will bring back war.

Chapter 5

They walked into the office of General Blackwell. There was a woman with him as he looked at Duo and Trowa as they entered the office.

"Good morning," he greeted and stood up. "This is Colonel Marranda Jones, she will be your commanding officer, any problems you will take it up with her. Colonel Jones these young men are former Gundam pilots, Duo Maxwell of the 02 Deathscythe Gundam, and Trowa Barton of the 03 Heavyarms Gundam. They will be mechanics of the third division hanger," Cameron said as he walked around his desk the woman followed him. "You will be working on mobile suits as well as shuttles and transport vehicles. I will warn you two now, I do not fully trust you, so when war starts, there may be a time where one or both of you pilot or drive one of those machines out there. You will not choose which, think carefully before tampering with anything."

Duo crossed his arms. "Why would we wanna tamper with the machines, we came ta you remember?"

Cameron nodded his head. "I remember quite well. I also remember a couple of Gundam pilots posing as enemy soldiers in the last two wars to get information and tamper with mobile suits. I just leave you with the thought that if you do tamper with the suits that it could be you that it back fires on. I hope to build a trusting relationship with you two. I know you have a wealth of information in your heads. I also know that you also fought long and hard for this peace. Peace is nice, but the people need to be able to obtain their own peace, not have it forced on them by destroying their weapons."

"Why is that?" Duo asked watching the man.

"Peace will mean more when it is brought about by the people, rather than forced upon them."

"But people fought during the war, are you saying it wasn't brought that way?" Trowa asked. Cameron smiled at the boys and placed his hands on the desk as he leaned back.

"How are those people going to protect the peace?" Cameron asked, "it is true that soldiers fought for a peace they believed in."

"You are doing the same," Trowa replied.

"I am. My choice of peace is giving it back to the nations, letting them solve their own disputes. Preventers, they can only do so much, and they fail," Cameron smiled. "The third division is a branch of Air and Space force. Your ranks are Mechanic Technical Sergeant, your badges should say MTSrg, this gives you the ability to go into most places of the Third Division hangers and access to the tools and labs. You are not yet a true member of my military, sadly, in time should tell a different story. You were each given one dress uniform, two combat uniforms, and four mechanic uniforms. Names and rank are velcroed on your uniforms, front and both arms of the jacket. The shirt for the mechanics have extra stripping to Velcro on as well."

Marranda stepped forward, saluted Cameron who returned it and she turned to the two boys. "Follow me I shall show you where to pick up your uniforms and badges." She said and led them out the door.

**I took ta wearing the uniform well enough, just reminded me of the times when I was on the sweepers ship. The material was real strong for our work. The boots were nice too. Trowa didn't seemed bothered either way. Marranda watched us as we strapped on our name and rank tags. She was going to watch us like a hawk for the new few days I just know it, deep down. She led us to the Third division hanger. It wasn't in the same building we got our uniforms in. **

"**You will be given an hour lunch at noon, you will swipe your id card on the box when you leave and when you return. This lets our staff know how many hours you have worked that day and it will show up on your pay at the end of the week," she started to explain, and the first thing on my mind was:**

"**We get paid?" **

"**Yes Maxwell you get paid for your work, your accounts have already been set up and your cards are inside one of the bags in your locker. You get fifteen credits starting off and after you complete the ninety day probation period you will go up to twenty credits, from then on, time and rank will play apart in your salary. We have a postal service here, you can and will receive mail here and it is placed in your mail box, in the main building. You can pick it up before or after work or on your lunch. The mail attendant can help you." She informed us. I listened to her but Trowa seemed to pay attention to her as I gaped at the sight I saw. **

**Mobile suits lined the back wall of the hanger, most of them with parts taken off of em and men and women in the machine parts tinkering away at them. We followed her until she stopped. I was turning around looking at the place I was ta work at for a while, how long I didn't know, until Tro said not to I guess. I had to remind myself that this was enemy territory. **

"**Platforms fourteen and fifteen, you are only responsible for the suits, or anything else on these two platforms. As you can see you have a mobile suit each," Marranda started again. **

"**What make are they?" Trowa asked. **

"**Good eye Barton, this one is a Gemini, and this one is as Sagittarius, two new mobile suits, though the Gemini has a twin, this one is Gemini 2, Gemini 1 is on platform twelve."**

**We both take a look at the mobile suits, no weapons were mounted on the things so it was a little hard to tell their battle style from the outside. The Gemini suit was a dull gray color and it looked like a space Leo, and the Sagittarius was a bark brown and one arm was slightly larger then the other, but otherwise it also looked like a leo. **

"**They look like Leos," Trowa said seeming to read my mind. I grinned at him. **

"**They do, but their weapon and defensive systems are quite a bit different from a Leo. We have a hand full or so of those as well," she supplied us. "Maybe one day you can see what the differences are. The pilots report of the suit is on the monitors, I will leave you to your work. Oh I almost forgot Second Lieutenant Hagen Green is the Third Division Hanger's Commanding Officer. I will see you later gentlemen."**

**With those being her last words she walked away from Tro and myself. I crossed my arms and grinned wide at Trowa. Who wasn't smiling back. I took a look around then. A quick glance at thirty mobile suits in this hanger alone, who knows how many hangers they have or how many not broken machines they had. Earth does not have a defense against this. **

**I turn to fifteenth platform and I let Trowa take the fourteenth.**

_We clocked out for lunch at noon, and we sat in a small table in the corner of a small dinner. I watch duo sit in front of me, going over the menu. He had dirt and grease smeared on his hands, arms and face and he was happy about it. I had stained hands and arms, no helping it, it's the job. When Duo finally finished telling the waitress what he wanted and she walked away he leaned in to me. _

"_I'm'a thinkin bout taken a look around tonight, seen where they keep the good ones," he whispered. Looking at him for a moment I shake my head. _

"_Its too dangerous on the first night, they'll be expecting it," I reply to him. "Wait."_

"_Aww, I don't like playin the waitin game…" he moaned out in protest. I could feel my lips twitch up some at him. "Oh hey, since we're gittin paid think we can get an apartment instead of that motel room?"_

"_I like the room," I answer. Duo turned his violet eyes up at me, it made me want to laugh, his dirty face mixed with his pleading eyes. He looked like a kicked lost puppy. Besides an apartment means different rooms, and I liked sleeping in the same room as Duo, I will never say this out loud or to him because I don't know how he feels but, I like it. _

"_But an apartment would make our cover look better, besides, I was talken with Nicola, she's the mechanic for the sixteenth platform and she knows a nice place, she said it was small, but affordable and close to work that we don't have ta get a car or wake up three hours before cause it takes us an hour ta walk to work. She was willing ta show us after work," he started talking. Sometimes I disliked it when he would start to ramble. My eyes strayed to his braid that was pinned up on his head to keep it from getting oil or grease into it. "What'da'ya think?" he asked. _

"_We can go look and see what its like," I answer him. His smile brightens. _

_And he was cheery the rest of the day. Well I liked working on my Gundam when I had Heavyarms, and mobile suits before him. I was also happy working on them again. _

_We met Nicola at the front gate after work. Duo and I were carrying our duffle bags of uniforms and belongs gotten from the Pegasus group. She was a sturdy woman with light brown hair that was up in a pony tail and brown eyes hidden by glasses. _

"_Hello Trowa," she said and smiled. "Duo, I see you managed to talk him into the field trip?"_

"_Yep!" he nearly yelled at my side. I forgot how loud he could be. _

"_It's not far," she said eyeing our bags. So we walked, and true to her word it wasn't far. The owner was waiting to greet us, he was an elderly man and kind too. The apartment was on the second floor. Here it was, standing at the door I waited to see what was inside. _

_He opened the door. Duo walked in first and looked around. It was furnished with a stove, a refrigerator, AC and heating, dinning table and four chairs, a couch, coffee table, and chair, no television, no phone. I walk in and look at the rooms offered. A closet, a bathroom and a single room. I looked at Duo who was standing inside the single bedroom looking out one of the windows. _

"_How much?" I asked the man. _

"_Five hundred credits a month," he answered. _

_Nodding my head kept my eyes on Duo as he turned to look at me. "We can do five hundred a month," I answer. "When can we move in?"_

_Duo talked all the way to the motel room. That we would be staying in until the weekend. On the way to the room he picked up several store books, to pick out things we would need. Like a bed or two. Seeing how it was my turn to cook we had a simple meal of chicken, peas and rice. _

"_Trowa are you paying attention?" Duo asked. I knew I wasn't paying attention because I typed on the laptop while he talked. "No, yer startin ta act like Heero." He grumbled. I heard that and looked at him. Damn it, and I tried so hard not to. I push the laptop away from me for a moment and looked at him. _

"_Go over that last part again?" I asked softly. Duo was looking towards the television pouting, but he turned his eyes on me and then broke his pout and nodded. _

"_I was thinken bout a queen," he said. Closing my eyes I had to think what he was talking about. "Bed." He supplied for me. _

"_Would two queens fit?" I asked. _

"_Two?" he countered sounding rather saddened at that number. He looked back down to the book. "We could go two, fulls would fit I guess, or twins would be better…"_

_I place my hand over his hand as he was about to mark out the queen size beds. "A queen is just fine."_

_He smiled at my hand on his. He looked up at me with that smile and I smiled back._


	6. Chapter 6

Things Are Not as They Seem6

The Year was After Colony 200

General Cameron Blackwell of the Pegasus organization has made a move against the Preventers claiming that they cannot resolve all nations and colony problems. He put forth that the nations and the colonies should have their own standing army. World Peace leader Relena Darlian disagrees with General Blackwell's notion saying that standing armies will bring back war.

Chapter 6

**Trowa was glaring at his computer screen again and then at the mobile suit standing on the platform. I silently watched him from my perch on the suit I was working on. We get to move into the apartment today, as a house warming gift Nicola said she was going to help us get it all furnished. Colonel Jones also made note of earlier this morning about our new address. **

**Trowa had been Trowa, silently thinking and a bit indifferent. Now he was getting angry, if not angry already. I can tell because he is gripping the sides of the stand where the computer sat with a white knuckled grip and he had a frown on his face. **

**I use the cable and hop a ride down to where he is and look at the computer screen. I can see why he's so angry. "The pilot is an idiot," I said behind him. **

**Nearly everything on the list from air compression to zone readings there was something wrong. The pilot notes weren't very helpful either. I can see that he pressed the see pilot button on the computer. That must be what he's waiting on. **

"**Mister Maxwell don't you have a suit to work on of your own?" asked Second Lieutenant Green as he walked down the path towards Trowa.**

**I nodded and then went back to my computer screen and clicked a couple of buttons, and then made my way back up to the arm of the mobile suit. I kept an ear out.**

"**Why do you need to speak with the pilot Mister Barton?" Green said. **

"**The pilot reports," he said simply. "Without real data from the pilot I cant make repairs, I don't know what's wrong."**

**Green leaned over and looked at the screen. "He gave you a report."**

**Trowa turned to look at the Lieutenant, I wish I could see his expression but with his back to me I cant. "Telling me the left arm needs fixed is not telling me what is wrong with the left arm, is the join compression not working? Is it to sensitive, or not enough? I need data, facts, not third grade sentences." Okay Trowa was angry, he doesn't raise his voice, at least I have never heard him do so but I could hear him clearly from my perch on the suit's arm. **

"**Work with it, you use to be a Gundam pilot," Green replied. **

"**Lieutenant Green," Nicola walked up saluting him. "It is the mechanic's right to call the pilot, even if the reports gave him everything he needed-"**

"**I didn't ask you miss Collar, go back to your post," Green yelled at Nicola. **

**I didn't like that one bit and hopped back off the mobile suit. "If Trowa wants the pilot let him have the pilot," I said. **

"**I have the right to fire you, all three of you," Green started. **

"**No you don't," said a cold female's voice from behind Green. I watched Marranda for a long moment. "At ease Mister Maxwell, no need to shoot anyone," she said calmly. "Lieutenant Green, please go back to your post, I will handle this. Oh and for the future, if the mechanic ever needs to talk to or work with the pilot of any mobile suit, you will abide and get the last pilot of that suit is that understood?"**

"**Yes ma'am," Green said saluted and walked away from us. Marranda stepped aside. **

"**This is Samantha McClair, she was the last one to pilot this mobile suit," Marranda said as a woman nodded her head to us. Well to Trowa. **

"**I apologize for the report, but I don't know any of these things," she said. **

"**Then we will work on it together, please get inside the cockpit," Trowa said softly to the woman. Nicola went back to her platform, I stood there and glared at Samantha. **

Duo tapped his tool against the hunk of metal he was sitting on watching Trowa and Samantha. She smile gently and gave butterfly touches to his hands and arms. She blushed often when she apologized. Duo learned quickly that she didn't know the first thing when it came to a mobile suit. So he wondered why she was a pilot. So Duo sat and glared at the two of them. Trowa would get close to her in the cockpit to read or look at something and he could see her breath catch, and her eyes lock on Trowa.

He was paying so much attention that he almost didn't catch Nicola coming up beside him. "You're gonna make a dint in the shell," she said. Duo looked at her and then to where he was tapping the tool and then stopped.

"Eh," he said in reply. Nicola moved slightly and looked at Trowa and Samantha.

Nicola gasped as if it finally dawned on her. "You like Trowa…" she whispered. Duo dropped his tool and it clanked and banged into the arm of the suit.

"Damn it," Duo cursed and reached down to try and grab it. Did he really like Trowa? Yeah sure he found the guy nice to be around, but he had been this path with Heero once, the strong silent type didn't normally sit well with him. Heero had chosen Relena after all. He thought about it. They were getting an apartment with one bedroom and Trowa had agreed on a single queen sized bed. They had fallen asleep next to each other while in the motel room, but Trowa still managed to stay on his side of the bed and he on his. They were just good friends.

"Duo, move," Nicola said as Duo still couldn't reach it.

"I got it," he argued.

"You need someone with longer arms," Nicola protested.

"I said I got it…" Duo groaned as he stretched his arm and fingers.

"Move," came the deep voice of Trowa. Duo looked up at him as he knelt down. Duo moved away and let Trowa bend over to reach for the dropped tool. Which he recovered and handed it back to Duo.

"Thanks Tro," Duo said. Trowa nodded his head and went back to his work.

Duo waited with Nicola for Trowa at the front gate. Duo frowned and glared when he saw Samantha following Trowa out.

"Thank you so much for your help Tro," she said. Duo clenched his fist glaring daggers at the woman. "See you tomorrow."

Trowa waved to her and stood with Duo and Nicola. Trowa was watching Duo. "She called you Tro."

"You call me Tro," he replied.

"But its my nickname for ya," Duo countered.

"Well congratulations you got another -" Trowa started but paused when he saw Duo glaring at him. "I can ask her not to."

"Oh no, if ya like her callin ya Tro by all means," Duo said and crossed his arms. Nicola watched silently for a moment.

"So shopping?" she asked. "We have the entire weekend to get you two moved into your new apartment."

It didn't take long before Duo was bouncing and talking off Nicola and Trowa's ear. Mostly to Nicola, telling her his days on the Sweepers ship and going through space. They walked into the furniture store.

"Two twins," Duo said excitedly to the man that came up to greet them before Trowa or Nicola had a chance to say anything. The former Heavyarms pilot looked at Duo, but nodded his head in agreement.

_Here I thought we had agreed on a Queen. I guessed I missed a conversation somewhere where it changed to two twins. I half wonder if it had anything to do with Samantha. She was an idiot of a pilot, she didn't even know how to pull up the status screen, let alone her ammo or why kind of ammo she used. Nicola was there with us as we looked around the stores. We got dishes, towels, curtains and other household items she said we needed. _

_So now we were looking at beds and covers. The beds would be there until Sunday so Duo and I had two days of sleeping on the floor or couch. _

"_Duo," I whispered. He stopped his but bounce on the bed and looked at me. _

"_Yeah Trowa?" he asked. That had to be it. Samantha had called me Tro, and granted only Duo had ever used any sort of nicknames on us. I admit I didn't like her using it, she used it the once and I am starting to think it was on purpose. "If ya not gonna say anything why call my name?"_

_I must have gotten lost in my thoughts again. "Are you sure-"_

"_Yeah, don't wanna be taken up ya sleepin space," he replied a bit too quickly. I watch him as he looks around the store, Nicola was over looking at sheets and blankets. I sit down next to Duo. He stopped bouncing and turned his entire attention to me. _

_We could always bring the beds together later. I place my hand over his and give it a pat before asking, "you like this one?" _

"_Yeah," he agreed. _

"_We'll get two of them then." We sat there for a long moment. How long I don't know, when ever an employee or Nicola bothered us. The employee was first and we ordered two of the twin beds to be delivered at our apartment on Sunday. Nicola showed us several blankets and sheets. We chose many. _

_Everything paid for, we stopped by a pizza place on the way home, grabbed some pizza, soda and beer and Duo and I walked home together, to our first apartment. _

_We didn't have television or cable, so we sat at the table, drank beer, ate some pizza and played cards. My hand was red from Duo smacking it playing some kind of card game, I cant recall the name. He was good at it, but his hand was equally as red. He was laughing and shaking his hand from the last slap I had given him, from a pair of threes. _

"_That stings," he said. _

"_Drink more beer the pain will go away," I replied. _

"_Did they do this?" he asked me. I stop moving my cards for a moment. "The mercenaries when you were growin up."_

"_They played poker with credits, but yes," I replied. _

"_Sweepers too, did they let you in on a game?"_

"_When I was twelve was my first experience with beer and poker," I told him. "I lost that night, nearly three hundred credits. I learned the game after that."_

"_I was ten," Duo replied. We started the game again only this time I backed away with a red hand. _

_We stayed and played for a bit more, well until the beer was gone, and then decided on making it to the bedroom for sleep. That was a feat being drunk. Duo was no better, he drank more then I did. We made it, and to our horror we forgot to make the pallet to sleep on. Hell the blankets weren't even out of the bags yet. _

_So we set to work on taking blankets and sheets out. We managed to build a pallet on the floor. Duo was by the light switch, his shirt coming up over his head. I felt my feet moving, but my mind was fogged. _

_I reached over and turned the light out. I heard Duo hit the wall softly. _

_I pressed my lips against his, I felt his moan in my mouth. My eyes closed in the dark as my hands moved over burning skin. We kissed. _

_I don't know when he got his hands free of his shirt, but they were and they were on my chest moving around to my back, I felt nails dig into my skin. I pressed closer to the body that was in front of me. Hearing the breathing catch and moans of pleasure from the kiss alone. Duo was my undoing. _

_My hands working quickly at his jeans as my lips traveled down his exposed neck. I could feel his heart beat _

_pounding his blood through his veins, rapid and quick. _

"_Tro…" he breathed out, as his hands slid down my sides and tugged at my own jeans. Finally having his undone they slide easily to the ground, his underwear was quick to follow. My hand gripped him and he let out a gasp and dug his fingers into my skin more. I gently moved my hand down and then back up his shaft. His eyes closed his head back against the wall. I looked at him in the shadowy night darkness of our room. My drunkenness seemed to have left me. _

"_Duo," I whispered in his ear. _

"_Yes," he answered my unspoken question. I kissed him again, his mouth opened up for me. I moved us slowly away from the wall and towards the pallet that we had made. Feeling it with my bare feet I moved Duo around and he went easily enough to the pallet. I finished undressing and moved over top of him. Our bodies touched each other briefly and he groaned out. His hands reaching for me, and found my skin. _

_Taking my hand I moved it back down to his groin and took him in hand again, only this time I moved myself with it. Our arousals rubbing against each other, Duo moaned on the pallet below me. He pushed up against me and I moaned with him. Leaning down I captured his lips again and pushed my tongue inside. Duo met the battle with his own. His moans vibrated my mouth and went down my throat to my stomach and lower regions. _

_Moving to cover his body with mine I felt his hands searching over me. _

"_Tro-" he breathed into my mouth, and then I felt his legs wrap around him and our groins press against each other harder. I moved to gain friction, he moaned. _

_And all too soon. It was over…_


	7. Chapter 7

Things Are Not as They Seem7

The Year was After Colony 200

General Cameron Blackwell of the Pegasus organization has made a move against the Preventers claiming that they cannot resolve all nations and colony problems. He put forth that the nations and the colonies should have their own standing army. World Peace leader Relena Darlian disagrees with General Blackwell's notion saying that standing armies will bring back war.

Chapter 7

_There was a peace when sitting inside of a mobile suit, or in this case my Heavyarms. Everything is quiet, the cockpit is dark, and there is nothing. Just for a few seconds, everything is lost and forgotten, no names, no war, no battle, no memory. _

_Nothing._

_Then the ultra compact fusion reactor starts going and there is a light humming noise. Then the screens blink on one at a time, first my front, then my far left and right, then the closer left and right. I open my eyes as stats flare up across my screens. Telling me my ammo - how much I have left, the thruster power, my power out put, how cool or hot the core is. I hear my weapons start up, even when not firing my Heavyarms keeps the weapons systems on. Then the sounds from outside. _

_Cries of battle, blasts from rocket launchers, explosions on either side of me and my comrades. _

"_Get that thing up and moving No-name!" called a man to my left. I know that voice. That was Commander's voice, when I was still in the mercenaries. _

"_Yes Commander," I replied. This was odd, this was Heavyarms, but why was I still in the mercenaries, and my name, wasn't it Trowa? _

_I worked the controls of my Gundam and got the thing up. The first thing I heard was my Commander on the com. "Good lord, that's a," there was a pause. Then an explosion. It knocked me forward in my seat as I turned to look._

"_Gundam!" someone yelled. "It's a Gundam!" I know this place. This is a Colony… I look around and I see Duo standing in the street looking up. I don't understand. _

"_Trowa…" I see Duo's mouth move in my name. I cant control myself, I lift up my Beam Gatling and start firing on an L2 colony. I saw Duo screaming, I don't know what he was saying. God, what was I doing? This didn't happen, this wasn't part of my past…_

_I am lost._

_Space._

_Cold. Alone. Dead. _

_Trowa…. _

_Is that Duo calling me? Is he the God of Death?_

_Trowa…_

He blinked his green eyes open. What he saw was a worried expression turn into a smile. Duo was propped up on one arm looking over him, his hair loose and falling around his shoulders. Trowa brought one hand up and placed it against his face.

"Headache?" Duo asked. Trowa let out a small groan of a noise and turned on his side. Duo placed a hand on his shoulder and shook it slightly. "Comeon, a shower will do wonders."

"So will staying in bed," Trowa said under his breath as he reached for a pillow. Duo laughed, shaking his head he moved to get up. Trowa grabbed Duo's wrist. Duo blinked and looked at the hand that held him in place. "Stay."

"Oh I wish I could Tro," Duo replied smoothly as he leaned down, his lips just over Trowa's. "But see, I have this thing about my hair…"

Trowa ran his free hand through Duo's hair and made a pleased sound in his throat. Duo chuckled, Trowa went to kiss him when the door bell rang. Turning over Trowa grabbed the phone and flipped it open. Eleven thirty in the morning… had they slept that late? Or were they up to who knows when and just got a few hours…

"Never getting drunk again," Trowa said and stood up. He put on a pair of sleeping pants and made sure he was clean enough to answer the door while Duo took the shower first. The door bell rang for a third time as he reached it, unlocked it and opened it to Nicola. Who blinked at his, near nakedness.

"Was I…interrupting something?" she asked.

Trowa didn't say anything as he opened the door for her and went to the kitchen to start some coffee.

"Maybe I should call next time," she said, Trowa nodded his head. She looked around slowly, Trowa kept his eyes on her as she reached one of Duo's duffle bag. She reached over and took out a picture frame, she showed it to him. "What's this?"

Trowa looked at the picture. It was just after the eve war. Une had allowed them a picture each with their Gundams, and one together. Duo was standing between Heero and Wufei, o Heero's left, and he was standing between Heero and Quatre on Heero's right, behind them their Gundams, standing the same way. Trowa looked at it for a long minute.

"A picture," he answered.

"I can see that, who are the others?" she asked.

"Come on, don't think for a second that we think you're stupid," Duo said from the bathroom door. "Left ya plenty of hot water Tro," he said as Trowa nodded and walked into the bathroom. "You know who they are."

"I know that they are Gundam pilots, but I don't know their names," Nicola said, she walked over to the wall and hung the picture up. "I think it looks nice, if everyone looks a little warn and tired."

"We just got done with a war," Duo replied. "We were worn and tired." Nicola took a step back and looked at the picture on the wall.

"Is that the reason why you still carry weapons? Because of the war?"

"I have fought through two wars, at the time I wanted nothing but peace," Duo said.

"And now?"

Duo shrugged. "Pickin up junk and scrap in space is nice an all, but, its not the same as being in a machine. In a Gundam or mobile suit."

"You liked to pilot."

"Hell yea, still love it, though now all I can pilot is shuttles, and planes."

"You don't think Blackwell will let you pilot?"

Duo waved that question off easily. "Too mush of a risk to let me or Tro pilot. We were Gundam pilots after all."

"I don't think so," Nicola said and clasped her hands before her. "You all look sad and happy at the some time if that is possible." Duo looked at the picture and then to her doing his best to look confused. She laughed. "I think you are all happy that you got to fight and bring a kind of peace to the word, but sad that you have to give up what you have come to know and love. When you fight for what you have with what you have it has a special place inside you, that you don't want to let go. I bet you were really sad when Deathscythe was destroyed."

"Yeah, but ya'know it was for the better at the time."

"Maybe," Nicola said and smiled. Trowa walked out of he bathroom then, adjusting his shirt before looking at the two of them. "Ready for some more shopping?" she asked cheerfully.

"No," Trowa said and walked over to get some coffee. Nicola placed a hand over her mouth and laughed lightly.

"Hangover headache?" Trowa ignored her and drank his coffee. It had been a long time since he got drunk like that, and he did not want a repeat, not to mention that dream. Duo looked at Trowa and walked over to him.

"You gonna be okay buddy?" he asked.

"Yeah, go shopping without me."

"Oh we cant do that," Nicola complained.

"Yes you can."

"Come on Nicola," Duo said cheerfully. "We'll go shopping and have fun for Tro. It'll be a blast!"

**And what a blast! We were walkin down the street, when this guy decided then and there was a good time to try and rob the store we were walking by. I mean come on, who robs stores money these days its all done in credits, no cash is ever used anymore. Nicola and I both stop in the door way and just stare that this guy in a ski mask waving his gun around at the clerk. Everyone was afraid of this nutcase, well yeah he was waving a loaded gun around threatening to shoot people if the money wasn't placed in the bag. **

**Nicola started first, laughing at the sight before us. Then I started to laugh. The clerk and the armed robber turned to us. **

"**What's so funny?" the ski-masked robber yelled. **

"**You," I answered. "Whatcha think ya gonna get out of him? Aint nothing done in paper anymore, not for years, turned it all ta credits."**

**The ski-masked man tried to glare at me, but oh I have endured Heero's glare, this guy had nothing on Heero's glare. He turned tail and ran out the back I am guessing. Nicola was holding her sides. **

"**That was like out of a Before Colony movie," she said. **

**I didn't know what she was talking about, seeing as I lived on the streets of L2, had no home, and worked on a sweepers ship, got mixed up in a war, got mixed up in another war, and started my own scrap yard and now getting mixed up in another war. I didn't have the luxury of watching Before Colony movies, they required special movie players and televisions. I learned from that two things, Nicola has had some real military training not to go runnin off when a crazy man is waving a gun, or she's really stupid but I don't think that's it. Two, she came from a semi rich to really rich family. **

"**You don't know what a Before Colony movie is?" she asked me. **

"**I heard of em, never seen one," I answered honestly.**

**She got real quiet for a while as we left the store and went to do our everyday shopping. Soaps, cleaners, and stuff like that. I pushed the cart as we went isle by isle, we even got food at the store to bring home. No more beer though, I had a feeling Tro wouldn't like seeing that so soon. **

"**Are you from a colony?" Nicola asked. **

"**Yep, L2 cluster, V08744," I replied. She stopped and looked at me. "What about you?"**

"**L3, V05322," she replied. **

"**That colony was decommissioned in 193 wasn't it?" I asked.**

"**Yep."**

"**Ever been to Earth?" **

"**No, but I hope to, when General Blackwell starts the official attack on Preventers."**

**And my alerts went up. This wasn't about nations and colonies getting back their right to have a military, this was some man trying to start another war. A war against the preventers, and if the preventers pull out of all the colonies and nations that get a standing military… they would be an easy target to go down and eliminate easily. **

"**Have any idea when that will be?" I asked her as we walked down an isle of canned goods. **

"**Honestly no, are you looking forward to it too?"**

"**Yes," I said excitedly. By now it was easy to fake my excitement and smile, I had done it so often and for so many reasons. **

**We then talked about different foods and how to cook some meals. Normal things. Things I had been talking to Hilde with up until some odd weeks ago when I joined Trowa for this mission. **

"**Where is Trowa from?" Nicola asked as he slowly made our way through the clothing department. I was looking at slippers with lion heads thinking of Trowa. **

"**Don't know, Earth I think."**

"**Is it pretty?" she asked over her shoulder. **

"**Yeah, everything is, the sunrise and set, the moon and stars, it all looks so different. The air is different too, not cycled air like on the colony, and at night when its dark its dark, no after glow effects from lights of the colony," I informed her. She smiled,**

"**Sounds like a dream."**

"**When I first landed on Earth, I was stumbling over myself, nearly coughed up a lung too."**

"**I bet that was a sight to see."**

"**Yeah nearly got shot too."**

"**I wonder why… the great and powerful Gundams land on earth and destroy five bases all at once, and there is Duo, stumbling around his own two feet, cant figure out which way is up…"**

**Walking inside the apartment with bags the first thing I see is an empty room. I set my bags down and check the rooms. I see nothing. **

"**Where is Trowa?" Nicola asked as she sat her bags down. **

"**Not here," I answered. **

"**Oh, well, it was fun, remind me to take you and Trowa to see a Before Colony movie sometime," Nicola said and left me to put away our spoils. I set Trowa's new house slippers on the table for him to see when he comes home. **

**Oh I waited for a good two hours before the door finally opens and Trowa walks in. I go to open my mouth but close it when I see him place a finger to his lips. I blink and then see what he had been doing. **

**In his arms was the most adorable little kitten. It was black with the tip of its right ear white. Trowa sat down a couple of bags and hands me the really small kitten. She couldn't be more then a couple of weeks old. He made it a litter box and bed.**

"**Where?" I asked. **

"**She was on the street when I went for a walk. In a box with three other dead kittens, I couldn't leave her, so I took her to a vet to get her looked at," Trowa whispered. **

**I was excited. We had a pet.**


End file.
